As Polish Jews, Sonia and Jozef Maidan were forced to live in the Warsaw Ghetto after WW2 broke out. They escaped, lived in small towns for a time and then were captured by German troops and forced to work in an ammunition factory near Auschwitz from 1942-1944.
They experienced great trauma and hardship, but were strong enough to survive the constant threat of death. Separated during their time at Auschwitz, they reunited at the end of the war. The Jewish Settlement Service found a home for them in Waterloo in 1949.